


i’d have all i need

by Antisocial_Butterfli (orphan_account)



Series: better half of me [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Upside Down, Billy Hargrove Has a Crush on Steve Harrington, Boys In Love, Good Sibling Billy Hargrove, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, M/M, No Beta, No Smut, Period-Typical Homophobia, Steve Harrington Has a Crush on Billy Hargrove, Steve Harrington's Scoops Ahoy Uniform, We Die Like Men, but the boys get suggestive near the end, it’s only briefly mentioned though, so i upped the rating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-05
Updated: 2019-11-05
Packaged: 2021-01-23 13:00:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21320575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Antisocial_Butterfli
Summary: “Fine,” he says after half a minute, taking an angry drag from his cigarette.Surprise and confusion cloud her face, but she doesn’t say anything as she gets up and leaves his room again, probably so he doesn’t get a chance to back out.He could argue. And win. But he’d rather just do what the brat wants so he doesn’t have to spend the precious minutes arguing with her when he could be trying to bed Harrington instead. No competition.
Relationships: Billy Hargrove/Steve Harrington
Series: better half of me [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1529564
Comments: 28
Kudos: 263





	i’d have all i need

**Author's Note:**

> Part 2!!! As promised. Dontcha love me?

“Seriously?”

Billy flinches minutely and whips around to see Max leaning against his doorway with an unimpressed look on her face.

He rolls his eyes and turns back to his mirror, looking for any stray curls that may be out of place, “Get lost, freckle face.” He ignores the way the nickname comes out less biting than usual.

She huffs and steps further into his room, sitting on his bed. He only lets it slide because he’s in a good mood. He’s gonna see his pretty boy in a sailor outfit.

“You said you’d take me to the mall today, since you had to work on Monday.”

“And I will,” he says, letting agitation come through in his voice as he takes a cigarette from his pack on one of his speakers and lights it. He inhales for a few seconds before letting the smoke out as he speaks, “What do you think I’m getting ready for?”

He watches through the mirror as her face scrunches up in confusion, “You usually only spend this long in front of that dumb mirror when you have a ‘date’,” indicating the quotes with her fingers.

He scoffs and puts his cigarette in his mouth and keeps it there as he looks at himself in the mirror again, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he mutters, smoke billowing around his face, straightening the nonexistent creases in his shirt, which is only buttoned up halfway. He wants to be enticing for his pretty boy but not enough to be kicked out of the mall for borderline nudity.

“Right,” Max says, rolling her eyes. “Do you mind hurrying it up? I wanna swing by the Byers’ and pick up El. The boys are busy planning a new campaign and neither of us feel like dealing with that today.”

Billy whips around again with a scowl, snatching the cigarette from his mouth, “I never agreed to that,” he says, pointing a finger at her.

She rolls her eyes again, “Please?” 

Insincerity is dripping from her tone. He narrows his eyes at her. Gets the same look back.

“Fine,” he says after half a minute, taking an angry drag from his cigarette.

Surprise and confusion cloud her face, but she doesn’t say anything as she gets up and leaves his room again, probably so he doesn’t get a chance to back out.

He _could_ argue. And win. But he’d rather just do what the brat wants so he doesn’t have to spend the precious minutes arguing with her when he could be trying to bed Harrington instead. No competition.

He takes another drag and turns back to his mirror, grinning at his reflection and blowing smoke at it before grabbing his wallet and leaving his room.

Max practically jumps up from the couch and runs out the door when she sees him. She’s already in the passenger seat of the Camaro with the engine rolling and Metallica screaming from the radio when he gets outside. 

Billy huffs and swings into the driver seat, taking one more drag from his cigarette before tossing it out the window as he peels out of the driveway. 

Pulling up to the Byers’ house a while later, Max flings open the car door before they even fully stop. 

“Wait here,” she says over her shoulder.

“Hurry up,” he grunts in response and lights another cigarette. 

She rolls her eyes and slams the door closed pointedly before running into the house without knocking. Billy watches her go, blowing smoke out from his nose and closing his eyes, leaning his head back against the headrest. 

It’s not long before Max is exiting the house with the girl Billy recognizes from the week before, ‘El’, as she called her. Both of them clamber into the backseat and immediately start whispering and giggling about their boyfriends the way girls do. Which—Billy didn’t even know Max had a boyfriend. He’ll have to ask her about it later. Maybe get the kid’s address. Threaten him a little. That’s what big brothers are for, right?

Just as he’s about to back out of the driveway, Chief Hopper comes out of the house with a frown on his face, his arms crossing when he makes eye contact with Billy. He doesn’t say anything but Billy recognizes the look he’s getting anyway. _Get my daughter back in one piece or they’ll never find your body_. He’s gotten it before, back in Cali, whenever he’d pretend to be straight. Just to throw his dad and classmates off the scent.

Chief Hopper nods at him once, eyes narrowed and jaw clenched. He nods back and throws a wave for good measure as he pulls out and onto the road. He’s never given the chief a reason to not trust him with his daughter, not that he would know about, but he gets it. He doesn’t exactly look like the kind of guy you’d take home to meet the parents. Just how he likes it. Makes not having a girlfriend easier to get away with.

The drive to the mall is full of the girls giggling and singing along to The Bangles. He doesn’t mind as much as he usually would. He blames it on Harrington. The feelings he’s got for the fucker are making him soft. He’s surprised by how much he doesn’t actually mind that either.

Finding a parking space doesn’t take as long as he would have expected, and before he’s cut the engine the girls are out of the car and waiting for him. He laughs quietly to himself and pockets his keys before getting out and slamming the door closed. 

He looks down to check his other pocket for his wallet, his eyes widening when he looks back up to see El standing right in front of him, her arm outstretched to hand him something. He takes it and furrows his eyebrows when he realizes it’s a folded up twenty dollar bill.

“Joyce told me to give you that,” she answers his unasked question, face a mask of indifference, “for gas.”

He shakes his head and hands it back to her, “Don’t worry about it.”

Her head tilts to the side, not unlike a confused puppy. He presses his lips together in a line and glances at Max, who’s watching them with her arms crossed, leaning against the trunk of the car. He looks back to El and sighs, “You’ll probably want to look around at the stores,” he says, “use it for that.”

She stares at him for a few moments, her arm still outstretched. He gets the same feeling he did at the Wheeler’s when she stared at him then, like he’s being dissected and figured out. After another moment, she nods with a tiny, barely there smile and puts the bill in the pocket of her overalls. She walks back over to Max, who’s giving him a smile as well, immediately linking arms with her and walking towards the entrance. He has a feeling he just passed some kind of test. 

-

He kind of feels like a bit of a loser, following two barely teenage girls around the mall. But it’s not like he can just let them loose and hope they don’t get lost. It’s a big mall. He’d rather not have to go looking for them once he’s done wooing Harrington. And considering his track record with him, won’t actually take that long.

Max keeps looking behind them like she’s checking he’s still there. But she doesn’t seem bothered by the fact that he is and neither does El. 

In fact, they frequently ask him what he thinks of the clothes and shoes they keep trying on. He doesn’t give a shit. He tells them they look nice anyway. Which earns him a look from Max like he’s grown a second head and tentacles. Whatever.

After what seems like ten years but is probably more like two or three hours, both of them have a new outfit (shoes included) and are telling him they’re ready to leave.

“How about some ice cream?” he asks, faking nonchalance. “My treat.”

Recognition clouds Max’s face, but she looks suspicious, her eyes narrowed and head tilted upwards, “And a movie after?” He can tell she’s testing him. Trying to see how far she can go without him losing his temper. He’s got a pattern with Max. It’s gonna take a while before she’s not suspicious whenever he’s nice to her.

He would be offended (he’s actually been trying to be less of an asshole ever since he met Harrington and had more important things to be focused on than his anger toward her), but he’s much more interested in seeing his pretty boy as soon as possible. Call him a lovesick fool, he doesn’t care. 

He nods, “Sure, freckle face, whatever.”

She seems surprised again, but says nothing as she links El’s arm with hers and walks toward the storefront proudly brandishing the name, _Scoops Ahoy_. He follows them coolly, but feels his stomach flutter as they get closer.

As soon as they walk in, Billy looks for him. He’s not behind the counter. Instead, a girl his age he vaguely remembers seeing around school is leaning against said counter with her arms crossed, chewing what he assumes is bubblegum. His suspicions are confirmed when she blows an impressively large bubble, a blank look on her face as she turns to see her new customers. Her eyes flick over the girls, still looking bored, before landing on him and widening in recognition and delight, the bubble from her gum popping. He internally groans, hoping she doesn’t try to flirt with him.

She pushes off the counter with her hip and uncrosses her arms, knocking on the glass behind her twice. 

The girls are already at the counter and looking over the list of flavors when a part of the glass slides over.

Billy sees him and feels his heart rate increase by a thousand. He vaguely registers Max’s squawk of surprise and the side-eye she sends him when he hands her a five, but he ignores her because. 

Because Harrington looks absolutely fucking _edible_ in what little he can see of the sailors outfit. And Billy would _love_ to swab his deck.

Harrington’s got a mildly annoyed look on his face, directed at his coworker, until he sees Billy approaching the counter, that look of surprise crossing his face that never fails to rev Billy’s engine. He blushes prettily when Billy grins and winks at him before closing the window and appearing again from a door to the left that Billy hadn’t noticed. 

“Hey,” Harrington says, still standing in the doorway, cutting a quick glance over to the girls. Billy glances their way too and sees that the girl, whose name tag says ‘Robin’, has led them over to the other end of the glass showcases, effectively distracting them. Excellent.

Billy turns his full attention back to Harrington, walking fully up to the glass case and leaning on it with both elbows, crossing his arms. Harrington is frozen where he stands and Billy takes the chance to slide his gaze up and down his body, biting his bottom lip in appreciation when his gaze reaches Harrington’s lips. They’re strawberry ice cream pink and plump and gorgeous and Billy would love nothing more than to bite them, to see them wrapped around him. He flicks his eyes back up to Harrington’s, “Hey, sailor,” he says, voice coming out raspy and affected.

Harrington exhales shakily, and finally moves away from the doorway to stand in front of Billy, positioning himself in a similar way on the other side of the case, “I was beginning to think you wouldn’t show up,” he says, biting his lip, eyes moving sporadically across Billy’s face like he’s trying to soak up every detail. 

And. And Billy loves this. Loves how unapologetic Harrington is when it comes to his attraction to Billy. It wasn’t always like that, and Billy’s glad they’re finally at the point where they can flirt without being terrified of what the other is thinking.

When it first started, Billy could tell Harrington wasn’t thinking of him as a potential hookup, or god forbid, a potential _boyfriend. _Of course, _then _he’d been with Nancy Wheeler. So it makes sense he thought of Billy as a competitor instead.

But then Wheeler had dropped a bomb on him and Billy had taken his chance and swooped in to plant his seed before anyone else could. 

And now here they are.

And it’s been _months_. 

And Billy is _so ready_ to have this pretty boy all to himself. To make him _his _and _only his._

He knows he could treat this boy right if he could just have the chance. And with how things have been going, he thinks he might just have that chance.

“Only been a few days since you started here, Harrington,” he teases lightly, “miss me that much?”

Harrington inhales deeply, blatantly staring at Billy’s lips, and the blush on his cheeks might as well be a permanent fixture with how often Billy manages to bring it out of him, “Like you wouldn’t believe, Hargrove.”

That startles a small laugh out of Billy, only because he hadn’t been expecting it. He would have expected a bratty comeback, but he guesses Harrington is just as ready to cut the bullshit as Billy is at this point.

Billy leans a little closer, licks his lips, mumbles so only Harrington can hear, “Feeling’s mutual, baby.”

The soft little surprised moan he gets in response to the pet name makes him grin and twitch in his jeans. He can tell by the glazed over look in Harrington’s eyes, parted lips, and the way he’s shifting in place that he’s succeeded in getting him hot and bothered. Just as he’s about to make it worse, a throat clears beside them.

They jump apart and snap their heads toward the sound. Robin is standing at the register, a smirk on her face as she pulls two one dollar bills from the tray. She tries to hand them to him, a smug look still on her face. He returns the look, glancing at Harrington from the corner of his eye, smirking at the embarrassed way he’s holding himself. He waves her off, “Keep it.”

She grins at him, putting the bills in the tip jar, her eyes shifting between the two of them with obvious delight and approval. She hums before retreating through the door behind Harrington, hip checking him on the way. Billy glances behind himself and sees Max and El have sat themselves in a booth by the front door, giggling and whispering again while snacking on their ice cream.

He looks back in front of him and sees Harrington quickly shift his eyes back up from his half exposed chest, making him smirk and raise a brow at him. Harrington just smirks back. Billy loves him.

He glances back at the girls one more time to make sure they’re occupied before leaning back in, “So I was thinking...” he trails off, feeling himself blush despite the fact that just a minute ago he was very close to telling Harrington exactly what he wanted to do to him without batting an eyelash.

“Yeah?” Harrington encourages, a grin spreading across his face.

He’s beautiful. He’s so fucking beautiful and Billy wants to kiss him right here in front of his step-sister and her weird, yet adorable, friend and everyone else in this stupid ice cream shop he hasn’t even bothered to look at, let alone notice. 

Billy laughs lightly at his suicidal thoughts, considering the shithole town they live in. “I was thinking we could take a drive somewhere,” he finally says. “Maybe the quarry?”

Harrington’s grin get even wider as he nods, “Yeah,” he says, his eyes lit up like stars, “definitely. How about Friday night?”

Billy grins back at him, “I’ll pick you up at eight, pretty boy.”

“I’ll be waiting.”

The bubble they’ve found themselves in pops when Max walks up and tugs lightly at his arm, “Come on, Billy. Me and El wanna go see Back to the Future so we can threaten the boys with spoilers,” she says. Her eyes land on Harrington and she smiles at him, “Hey, Steve.”

“Hey, Max,” he says, smiling back at her. 

She winks at Billy subtly before walking back over to where El is waiting by the door.

Billy sighs and looks back to Harrington, starting to walk backwards away from him, appreciating the view one more time, “See you on Friday, Harrington.” 

He turns around fully before he bumps into something and follows the girls out of the shop, faintly hearing, “Yeah, see you, Hargrove,” aimed toward him. 

While the girls are buying the tickets for the movie, Billy let’s his gaze wander back toward the storefront and can see that Robin has slid open the glass window behind the counter and is drawing a line on the left side (from his point of view) of a whiteboard, though he’s too far away to see what it says on top.

**Author's Note:**

> Thoughts? More?
> 
> [Tumblr](https://anti-social-prettyboy.tumblr.com/post/188831064422/id-have-all-i-need-part-2-of-the-better-half-of)


End file.
